A fresh start in Bronx for LI’s Steven Matz as he puts in solid outing for Blue Jays

Just 10 miles from Citi Field, where the Mets have enough to worry about these days, Steven Matz did something Tuesday night that could add him to that headache-inducing list over in Flushing.

Lower down, of course. What’s done is done. But if there were ever a time for the Mets to regret trading Matz to the Blue Jays last January, it would be after the former Ward Melville star dominated the Yankees — in the Bronx of all places — by striking out a season-high 10 in 6 2/3 innings, his longest outing in two years.

Previously, Matz had an 8.25 ERA in three career appearances at Yankee Stadium, his second-worst to Coors Field (9.20) in ballparks with at least three games on his resume. But with his dad and uncle among the limited crowd of 12,025, Matz was dominant from the jump, whiffing seven of the first 11 Yankees he faced and holding them scoreless until Kyle Higashioka’s RBI single chased him with two outs in the seventh inning.

Matz (6-2) piloting the Blue Jays to a 6-2 win over their AL East rival was huge from a team standpoint, but it also had to be personally gratifying, especially with his Bronx troubles in a Mets’ uniform, and the way he was pushed out of Queens in the January swap for three minor-league pitchers. Still, Matz didn’t go there, brushing aside that messy history.

“It was a big win to get us back on track,” said Matz, who finished with a season-high 112 pitches. “I always go back to just focusing on the task at hand and executing. Try to leave all the other stuff kind of out of it. That’s always my main thing.

“Before the game, you definitely feel that extra energy of being here. But at the end of the day, it’s always about executing pitches for me.”

Making his first start in the Bronx since 2018 — when Greg Bird was among the Yankees gang who beat him up — Matz was in control of everything, with a fastball that stayed consistent at 96 mph to a curve that dipped as low as 79 mph. He didn’t surrender a walk for the only second time in 10 starts this season and of the six hits allowed, five were singles.

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Asked about the difference between last season with the Mets and now, it didn’t take very long for Matz to answer: “I think this year especially, my command with all of my pitches has been a lot better. Throwing any pitch in any count. Just kind of being unpredictable out there.”

Blue Jays manager Charlie Montoyo was so impressed that he sent Matz back out for the seventh having already thrown 94 pitches, his second-highest total to that point. Matz nearly made it through, getting two quick outs, the second one whiffing Rougned Odor. But Clint Frazier smoked a 96-mph fastball for a double and Higashioka ended Matz’s night by hitting pitch No. 112 for an RBI single. After handing over the baseball, he got fist bumps from the Blue Jays’ infielders.

Matz (6-2, 4.28 ERA) set the tone early, striking out the side in the first, blowing away Luke Voit and Gleyber Torres, who swung through fastballs, and whiffing Aaron Judge with an 87-mph changeup. And that trend stuck for the night as Matz pounded the Yankees with fastballs, then kept them off balance with the changeup, slider and a well-located curve.

This looked like the Matz from a month ago, when he was making the Mets wonder if they had made a big mistake. He became the first pitcher in Blue Jays history to win his first four starts with the team, and did so in dominant fashion, with a 2.31 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings while holding opponents to a .169 batting average and .539 OPS.

When the Mets dealt Matz to the Jays, these definitely were not the numbers new president/former GM Sandy Alderson expected from him. But his next five starts more resembled his latter days with the Mets, as Matz went 1-2 with a 6.93 ERA and opponents were hitting him at a .346 clip with a .939 OPS. His pitch counts rose again, his outings shrank, and the confidence Matz had exhibited in those first four starts began to crumble. But Matz certainly flipped the script Tuesday night.

“It’s fun coming back here,” Matz said. “Being around the city, and the buzz in New York. It was fun to compete in that atmosphere.”

Matz carried a number of narratives with him in his return to the Bronx, but any lingering psychological baggage apparently had been dumped in transit. This was a confident, even-keel Matz on display, having fun — and for once, making the Yankees miserable. The former fans from his Flushing days had to appreciate that, if not the people in the Mets’ front office.

By David Lennon @DPLennon

David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball’s Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.